The Worst Job Interview Questions Employers Can Ask

Job seekers can find plenty of advice on what not say in an
interview and how to blow their chances, but let's turn the
tables and talk about some of the worst questions that
interviewers ask candidates.

1. "So, what's your
background?" Interviewers shouldn't need to ask
this question, because they should have reviewed the candidate's
résumé before the interview. When an interviewer shows up
unprepared, they won't be able to conduct a strong interview, and
will signal to the candidate that they don't put the same value
on building a great team that a truly strong manager does.

2. "What is your biggest
weakness?" This question has appeared in so many
interview preparation books that it's become a cliché at this
point, with nearly every interviewee prepared with a canned
answer for it. It rarely elicits useful information, and what's
more, a good interviewer will be able to make her own judgments
about a
candidate's weakness. It's hardly helpful to hear "I work too
much," "I'm a perfectionist," or the other disingenuous responses
candidates are taught to give.

3. "What's your salary
history?" Unless the interviewer is prepared to
offer complete transparency when it comes to the company's salary
ranges (which most employers aren't), this is an unfair question
that makes most candidates uncomfortable. Furthermore, it's
unnecessary. You should pay candidates based on the value of
their work to your company; what previous employers paid them
isn't relevant. And yes, sometimes lazy employers like to use
salary history as a shorthand to determining a candidate's worth,
but good companies can figure that out on their own—without
expecting the candidate to answer questions that, frankly, are no
one's business but hers and her accountant's.

4. "Do you think you can handle this
workload?" Asking a candidate a hypothetical
question isn't likely to get you useful information, and most
people are smart enough to say "yes" to questions like this.
Instead, better questions probe into how the candidate actually
did act in the past, such as asking, "How much volume did you
have to handle in your last job? How did you stay on top of it
all? Tell me about a time when the volume was at its peak and how
you handled it." These questions probe into how
the candidate really does operate, not just how she says she
will in the future.

5. "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you
be?" Also known as "What kind of animal are you
most like?" and "What would I find in your refrigerator right
now?" Goofy questions like these rarely elicit useful
information, and they'll alienate most candidates. After all, the
strongest candidates will want to spend the interview talking
about their background, the job you have open, and what they
might bring to it. Goofy questions will annoy most good
candidates and make them question why you're wasting their
time­—and plenty will decide they're not a good fit with a hiring
manager who hires this way.

6. "If I offered you the job, would you accept
it?" Few candidates are going to answer "no" to
this question, and the real answer is usually "it depends on how
much the offer is for." This question doesn't garner the
interviewer any real information—but does make most
candidates uncomfortable.

7. "What does your husband do?" or, "What church do you
go to?" or "Do you have kids?" Personal questions
like these are inappropriate for interviews, which should focus
on the candidate's ability to do the job. And moreover, while the
questions themselves aren't illegal to ask, making a hiring
decision based on the answers is—so you can't consider the
responses, and most candidates with knowledge of the law will
wonder if you're asking with the intent to illegally
discriminate. Steer clear of personal questions and stick to the
candidate's fit for the job.

Instead of asking
ineffective questions like these, interviewers should
spend their time probing into the candidate's
qualifications—asking in-depth questions about how they've
operated in the past, talking over challenges they'll face in
this position and how they've responded to similar situations,
giving them opportunities to simulate the work, and helping them
get a better understanding of the job they would be signing up
for.